Indices trade sideways with strong gains; metal stocks shine

Equity indices traded sideways with strong gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty was trading below the 16,900 mark. The buying was supported by a slump in crude oil prices. All sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green.

At 11:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 757.41 points or 1.36% at 56,534.87. The Nifty 50 index rallied 228.45 points or 1.37% at 16,891.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.29%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,284 shares rose and 940 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement rose $1.36 cents at $101.27 a barrel. Oil prices have declined 11% in two trading sessions and settled below the $100 mark for the first time since the start of Russia Ukraine conflict. Crude prices have also come under pressure amid spike in COVID-19 cases in China.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rallied 1.74% to 6,013.1, snapping its two day losing streak. The index saw bargain hunting after falling 4.52% in two days.

Vedanta (up 3.15%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 2.69%), JSW Steel (up 2.17%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.87%) and Tata Steel (up 1.63%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were NMDC (up 1.59%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.48%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.42%), Coal India (up 1.01%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.91%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Punjab National Bank was up 0.14%. The state-run bank has reported a fraud of Rs 2,060.14 crore in the NPA account of IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL) at Extra Large Corporate Branch, Delhi. Punjab National Bank (PNB) informed that it has already made provisions amounting to Rs 824.06 crore as per prescribed prudential norms.

ITPCL is a SPV incorporated by IL&FS Group under the energy platform (i.e. IEDCL) for implementation of the Thermal Power Project ("Project"), at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.

Genus Paper & Boards rose 3.7% after the company said it has started commercial production of duplex paper from one of production lines at its new unit at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The Muzaffarnagar unit has manufacturing facilities for production of kraft paper and duplex paper.

Global Markets:

Asian markets advanced on Wednesday. China continues to grapple with its most severe Covid outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020, with major cities scrambling to limit business activity.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday as oil prices continued to drop further below $100 on hopes of an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

The gains came as traders continued to eye the latest with ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine and China Covid lockdowns that could wreak havoc on tech supply chains. Investors are anticipating a big Federal Reserve monetary decision Wednesday, in which the central bank is expected to hike rates by a quarter point, its first hike since 2018.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News